Parróquia de San Juan Batista

You come to the Parrroquia de San Juan Bautista, often spoken of locally as the Arucas Church, a Catholic house of worship in the old town of Arucas on Gran Canaria. What makes it worth a pause is the scale of the ambition behind the nickname: even though it is not a cathedral in the strict administrative sense, its size—and the way it rises—has earned it that title in everyday conversation. The story begins with a long construction campaign, not a single moment of founding. Construction set out on 19 March 1909, under the design of Manuel Vega i March, and it would not truly end until decades later. Work started in 1909 and, by the time everything was finished, the timeline stretched to 1977—a span of more than half a century. Even before the final completion, the church had reached a key milestone. It was opened for public worship in 1917, allowing the congregation to use the building long before every last element was in place.

Gothic Revival on an island timetable

Stylistically, the church belongs to Gothic Revival, a movement that reinterprets medieval Gothic forms with modern building ambition.